BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
Greetings, Sheeters! We’re back at it, shovelin’ the Bull. All subscribers have received account credits for missed service days during our late summer hiatus.

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Actor Chord Overstreet, who walked away from his ‘Sam Evans’ role on “Glee” when the powers-that-be wanted to relegate him to a recurring role, has now landed a guest-starring role on the ABC-TV comedy “The Middle” as new 4th-grade teacher (dude, never make a lateral move) . . . 37-year-old sorta singer-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham is back in her size 0 leather pants just 2 months after giving birth to her 4th child, Harper Seven (another reason to hate her) . . . Meantime, 37-year-old “How I Met Your Mother” star Alyson Hannigan has had to deny pregnancy rumors after she was photographed with what looked like a belly bump (just a muffin top, honest!) . . . 50-year-old actor Eddie Murphy (the “Shrek” donkey) is in early talks to host the 84th Academy Awards in February (OMG, we never thought we’d miss the days of James Franco & Anne Hatthaway) . . . And during some down time in London, acting couple Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie have taken their brood of 6 to see the lame children’s flick “Smurfs 3-D” (seems even superstars have to sit through crappy movies for the sake of the kids).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• AC/DC – Why they’ve decided to get into the wine business is anyone’s guess. Someone from their management team says, “No idea why they’re doing it. It’s not like they need the money and they don’t even drink wine.”
• Aerosmith – They plan to release their 14th studio album sometime around May 2012, according to a web post by their longtime producer Jack Douglas. The album will be their first release of original material since 2001’s “Just Push Play”.
• Beyoncé – She celebrated her 30th birthday in Venice, Italy with hubby Jay-Z … and friend Gwyneth Paltrow.
• Faith Hill – NBC Sports will again feature her on the opening theme of “Sunday Night Football” throughout the NFL season. “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” will kick off each game on NBC. She’s also currently in the studio recording what will be her first release of new music in 6 years.
• Game – The rapper claims hip-hop is rife with ‘man fans’, gay stars who refuse to be honest about their sexuality. He thinks it’s time for them to take a stand.
• Good Charlotte – Benji Madden tells “Rolling Stone” they’re going on a hiatus, stepping away from the grind of making records and touring to have fun and be creative like they were when they were 15.
• Pistol Annies – Miranda Lambert’s trio debuts at #1 on the “Billboard” magazine ‘Country Albums’ chart this week with their initial output “Hell on Heels”.
• Rihanna – She’s reportedly fired Jay-Z as her manager amid rumors she isn’t happy with how she was being managed by his team at RocNation.
• Tim McGraw – Rumor has it there’s interest in him for the male lead in Clint Eastwood’s planned remake of the film classic “A Star Is Born” after Leonardo DiCaprio turned it down.

BS BUZZWORDS:
New terms leaking into our lingo …
• ‘Halo Effect’ – When one positive trait of a person causes an observer to perceive other positive traits. Assuming someone must be smart because they’re attractive, for example.
• ‘Juvenoia’ – The baseless and exaggerated fear that the Internet and current social trends are having negative effects on children.
• ‘Silent Disco’ – Instead of relying on massive speaker systems, this newish trend has partygoers don wireless headphones to hear a live DJ broadcast. It’s becoming popular at clubs, festivals, and public spaces where noise ordinances would otherwise make a dance party impossible.

SANDBOX FOR ADULTS:
With the recession having gutted the construction industry in Las Vegas, excavators and bulldozers near The Strip are finally being put to use after sitting idle for months … as toys. Entrepreneur Ed Mumm has started a business called ‘Dig This’ which allows adults to push around dirt, rock, and huge tires with earth-moving construction equipment in what amounts to a life-sized sandbox. All it takes is a 10-minute classroom lesson and guidance from trainers through headsets. And oh yeah … a pay-to-play fee of up to $750. (For guys who never had a Tonka truck as a boy.)
– “Globe & Mail”

GRUMPY WEATHER MAY BE GONE:
Scientists have found another thing to blame on the climate demon El Niño … civil strife in poor countries. A new Columbia University study has found a significant increase in unrest during the years of an El Niño, which is a regular climatic event that tends to warm up and dry out tropical regions. Why? Researchers think that when people get hot and uncomfortable, they get irritable and more prone to fight. The study also suggests the flipside of El Niño, La Niña, is the most peaceful time for these tropical countries. And the good news is … meteorologists are predicting we’re heading into another La Niña period. (Today’s forecast … variable mayhem tapering off into peace and quiet.)
– AP

WHY WE GET STUPID WHEN DRUNK:
New research on alcohol’s effect on brain activity helps to explain the age-old phenomenon of people doing dumb things when they drink booze. University of Missouri researchers have found that alcohol dulls the brain signal that warns us when we are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self-control. Previous studies have also shown that alcohol reduces this alarm signal, but this is the first to show that it doesn’t reduce our awareness of mistakes … it reduces how much we care about making them. (“I don’t care what you say … I hate wearing pants.”)
– “Psych Central News”

BS AMAZING PLASTIC BAG FACTS:
• 90% of all shopping bags are plastic, likely because they’re cheaper to produce than paper bags.
• Plastic bags are able to carry 1,000 times their weight.
• While 100 billion plastic bags are used annually by American shoppers, only 2% end up being recycled.
• An average car could travel 36 feet on the petroleum used to make just 1 plastic bag.
– Condensed from TheToiletPaper.com

• “Neither Rain Nor Snow Day”, commemorating the motto of the US Postal Service – “Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”.

• “Nose Hair Maintenance Day”, your annual opportunity to take proper care of nose hair by trimming, styling, brushing or some such thing. (Wait a sec … once a year?)

• “Salami Day”, started in 2006 by the Salami Appreciation Society to honor the cured Italian sausage that is fermented and air-dried. (Erp!)
NET: http://www.salamiday.com

• “Take Another Look Day”, a day to survey your possessions and give surplus items to charity or reuse them in another project. (In other words, dump some of your ‘stuff’!)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1996 [15] Tupac Shakur is shot several times in Las Vegas while riding in a BMW with Death Row Records founder Marion ‘Suge’ Knight after attending a boxing match (dies of complications from the gunshot wounds 6 days later)

2001 [10] During his 30th anniversary celebration at NYC’s Madison Square Garden, Michael Jackson is reunited onstage with the Jackson 5 for the first time since 1984

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1931 [80] The ‘American Sunbathing Association’ is founded (now known as the ‘American Association for Nude Recreation’, which has member clubs across the US & Canada)

1986 [25] Only 3 plays into the new football season, officials call for the first ‘instant replay’ review in NFL history during a Chicago Bears-Cleveland Browns game

BS PHONE STARTER:
Should women ‘strut their stuff’ in order to get ahead on-the-job? (In a controversial new book, author Catherine Hakim argues that women should flaunt their “Sexual Capital” in order to get ahead in the corporate world, an idea that’s anathema to feminists. But in a “Newsweek” poll, 13% of women say they would have cosmetic surgery if it made them more competitive in the workplace.)
BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Which of The Beatles was the first to become a grandfather?
a. Paul McCartney.
b. George Harrison.
c. Ringo Starr. [CORRECT. On this date in 1985 he became the proud grandpa of Tatia Jayne via his son Zak, making him the first Beatle to be so honored.]
– “Today in Oldies Music History”
BS RANDOM JOKE:
My doctor just diagnosed me with color blindness. Wasn’t expecting that … it hit me like a bolt out of the green!
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: A recent survey says that most men do THIS because they are bored.
Answer: Flirt at work.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Any change looks terrible at first.